Growing up Infatuated with Tommy Conlon
by notnormallyareader
Summary: The story evolves with each chapter, so I can't really tell you what it's about. The OFC Adrian has had a crush on young Tommy for years and maybe he feels the same way. (This story begins before he and his mother leave to Tacoma.)
1. Chapter 1

The gentle, cool spring air danced in and out of the window as Adrian looked out her open window across the street over at a neighboring brick house. She had butterflies in her stomach imagining what would come of her night as she watched the house of where she would be spending her evening. She was fourteen years old and was of the younger kids in her grade. She had little to no experience with boys, and tonight she was going to have her first boy-girl sleepover. Adrian didn't know what to expect, but she knew she was going over to the house of the boy she had been crushing on since the sixth grade.

His name was Tommy Conlon, and to her he was the most beautiful boy she had ever seen. He was tall for his age, and he had an athletic, lean build. He had big, pouty lips that would put any girl to shame. Despite his feminine lips, he had a strong, jaw line and masculine, arched eyebrows. He was mostly quiet, but the whole school knew who he was, because he had just won the school the state championship for wrestling. All the girls wanted to be with him, but he didn't seem to notice. His only true friend was Adrian, and he mostly kept to himself. Tommy didn't like letting people in, and Adrian knew that, so he made her feel special.

"Adrian Anne, it's dinner time!" called Adrian's mom from down stairs, so Adrian got up from the window immediately and jogged down the stairs into the dining room. It was another normal family dinner, but Adrian just wanted it to end, so she could head over to the Conlon's household. Adrian had only one sibling, a sister named Miranda, and Miranda was looking forward to making this dinner as awkward as possible when she felt it was time.

This meal was pretty normal until it was time for her parents to have a brief talk with Adrian about her plans for the evening.

"What do you guys intend on doing tonight?" asked Mrs. Flannery.

"Kiss!" chimed in Miranda.

Adrian's face went red, and she immediately turned to glare at her sister. "No, umm well since it's Prom for the juniors and seniors, Brendan is having a party at his house afterwards, and they said something about a bon fire."

"Will all the kids being staying the night?"

"I don't think so. I think most of the girls are going to stay at Tess's house, but other people are just being picked up by their parents."

Once again Miranda pried her nose into the conversation further. "If girls are going to Tess's then where will you be staying?"

"You're coming back here, right?"said Adrian's father who didn't even look upset, while he was easing his way into the conversation. He was a calm guy, and it showed whenever anything came up about Adrian and her whereabouts.

Adrian suddenly became overwhelmed with nerves. "Th-that's what I was hoping to ask you about. I'd like to stay over there. I mean I'm not far from home, and you're friends with Mr. Conlon, so I thought it might be okay."

The two parents looked at each other as if they were talking it over in their heads with one another. Before Mrs. Flannery could speak up, Mr. Flannery interjected, "Of course! You're in high school now. I trust you can look after yourself, but just don't cause any trouble while you're over there." He winked.

"But Henry, you know that probably isn't the best idea," Mrs. Flannery asserted to her husband.

"Now Mary, our daughter is a smart girl, she'll be fine. Besides we've known the Conlons for years, and they're good people."

"She is a smart girl, but I want her to stay a _good _girl. I also don't know if you and Paddy's drinking late nights are exactly the best thing for you to use to judge his character."

"Okay, well, it's going to be fine," Mr. Flannery exhaled then turned to face his youngest. "Cookie, you are welcome to stay over there, but I want you to act appropriately for your mother's sake.—I mean your sake, but mostly for your mother's, and maybe a little for mine." He winked at Adrian, who was cracking a smile. She couldn't help it. Her dad was always on her side, and she loved how he always understood.

"But Daddy, what if they get left alone or something?" said Miranda trying to get him to change his mind. Normally Miranda would be supportive, but she was bitter because she wasn't allowed to go to Prom. Her mother walked in on her and a boy named Frank, who trained at the local gym, having sex. Mrs. Flannery, a strong Christian woman was less than okay with what she had caught her daughter doing, so right after Miranda opened her mouth, Miranda instantly regretted her decision to speak, as if she had forgotten that the dust from her situation had yet to settle.

Mrs. Flannery shot her a look. "Not all the Flannery girls behave the same."

"Eh, Tommy's got good Irish blood in him," Mr. Flannery noted as he nudged Adrian with his elbow.

Adrian scrunched up her nose to make a face at her dad, but after the fourth nudge, she let out a small chuckle, which was immediately cut off by her mom getting upset with her father again.

"Henry!"

"I'm just kidding. Don't let him touch you. You heard me! You're a tough cookie, so just kick him in the balls, and he won't bother you again. He's an amazing fighter for his age, but any guy knows 'don't mess with a gal who'll fight dirty,'" claimed Mr. Flannery as he wagged his finger.

"Much better," said Mrs. Flannery as she rubbed her husband's shoulder. "Thank you." She then kissed her husband on the cheek and got up from the table to get more rolls for the empty bread basket.

Even though, Adrian's dad had said those words, she knew that if one day when she and Tommy were adults, he wouldn't mind the pair together, so she just nodded and finished her chicken. Miranda just sat there pouting with her arms crossed looking at her sister, but Adrian didn't care, because she was beyond thrilled that her parents were allowing her to stay at Tommy's. The whole night was working itself out perfectly, and yet she still couldn't put her finger on what she thought would be happening.

After dinner had ended, Adrian went upstairs to pack her over-night bag, but she also wanted to freshen up a bit. She brushed her hair, put on a pair of silver, dangly ear rings, and put on jeans instead of her typical pair of athletic pants. She examined herself in the mirror, and she was surprised to see that she was starting to look a little bit more like a lady than she remembered the last time she saw herself in the mirror. She had wider hips, so her waist went in. She even had a little bit of a chest now, which was quite an accomplishment. For the longest time, she didn't think she would have much boobs, because Miranda had started showing when she was 12, but not Adrian. However, she didn't care because she had nice long legs, and she knew it too.

She put on a little bit of mascara and some cherry lip gloss. As for the final touch, she was feeling very confident, so Adrian picked up a bottle of vanilla body spray off her desk that she had rarely ever used. She sprayed it in front of her to walk into it as she closed her eyes and walking into the mist, she was interrupted.

"You smell like a whore… I like it." Miranda waltzed into the room uninvited.

"Thanks, Randi. You always know what to say," replied Adrian in a melancholy tone. Her sister usually meant well, but she also didn't understand boundaries. Sometimes Adrian felt like she was the older one, because she felt more mature, but her older sister was definitely more experienced in other areas, much to her mother's dislike.

"Is tonight going to be the night? Because I mean, if it is, I say go for it! Make sure you use a condom though. That boy's so popular at school that I wouldn't trust the skanks that he's been with, but who can blame them? He's cute; he might even be cuter than Brendan."

"Just stop okay. You're making this weird," whined Adrian. "I'm already worried, and I doubt anything's going to happen."

"Do you want something to happen?" raised Miranda's eyebrows.

Adrian paused, because she wasn't sure how to answer this question. "No- I mean, yeah, I do." Miranda's eyebrows got even higher, and she began to smile. "Not like that! I mean not _that_ far. I just want him to like me, Randi."

"Then if you want to guarantee something happening, then you've gotta make it happen, because maybe he's just nervous like you. I've seen him look at you, and he gives you 'the look.'"

"'The look?'"

"Yeah, the let's bang kinda-look."

Adrian frowned and sat down on her bed as she began to run her fingers through her chestnut brown hair out of habit. Her sister's inability to filter made her apprehensive at times.

"That's a great thing, sis," Miranda continued walking over to her sister. "It means he's interested in you, plus just because he gives you 'the look' it doesn't mean you have to do all of that. I know I talk a big game, but I didn't just dive-in my first time. I waited for when I felt the time was right. We're all different."

Calmness flushed through Adrian's entire body, and she felt relieved. She took a deep breath and hugged her sister. Despite Miranda's bouts of selfishness, she really does care about Adrian and wants her sister have fun and be happy. As the two were letting go of one another, Miranda said "Then after that all bets were off, and I was down with any hot guy who didn't have a girlfriend."

"At least you respect yourself enough to not be the other girl," retorted Adrian.

"Yeah, well remember when I tried that recently? It didn't work out so well, now did it?" Miranda huffed.

"I didn't mean to bring that up. I'm sorry," Adrian apologized.

"It's all right. At least someone's going to get a piece of a Conlon around here," joked Miranda as she slinked out of the bedroom.


	2. Chapter 2

Opening the heavy screen door, Adrian released a heavy breath. She lifted her arm and trembled to knock on the door. She reassured herself there was no reason for her to be nervous as she awaited someone to respond to her knock and let her into the house. Among the sound of the local 8 o' clock news she heard an even paced set of footsteps coming her way.

Once the kind face behind the door was revealed, all her anxieties melted away. "Hello, sugar," welcomed a petite woman wearing glasses. "Can I get a hug, dear?" Mrs. Conlon stretched out her arms towards the girl, who without hesitation promptly leaped onto the little women and hugged her around the shoulders.

When she tightened her squeeze onto this lady who was practically her second mother, she felt Mrs. Conlon's muscle stiffen under her embrace. She let go quickly and apologized. "I'm so sorry! Did I hurt you?" She felt guilty, because she knew that if any person didn't need more pain, then that person would be Mrs. Conlon.

"No, no, you gave me a lot of loving just like my Thomas does. You both don't know your own strength." There was a twinkle in her eye when she spoke about Tommy or maybe it was her mentioning Adrian and Tommy together that brought out this expression. "It's great, because you're willing to give more love than you know you're giving out!" Mrs. Conlon felt her shoulder showing, so she adjusted her floral blouse in a rapid attempt to hide her fresh purple and black bruise from Adrian's eyes.

Adrian pretended not to notice the marking, because not all kids were fortunate enough to have happy parents who got along like hers do. Sure, her parents bickered, but her father would never touch her mother, and they always resolved their problems. Tommy had told her about how his mom was a "victim" who never fought back, which was so different from Tommy. He was a fighter and was always fighting, but there was only one man he didn't battle and that was Paddy Conlon, who kept up the appearance to everyone else that he was an overall fine man. Other than Mr. Conlon's occasional angry, intoxicated outbursts towards his wife, he really wasn't a bad guy. It was a little difficult for Adrian to form an opinion, because no one else outside of the Conlon family knew what was going on there, and she hadn't even talked to anyone about it. She wasn't going to break Tommy's trust, especially since she knew she was the only one who he could talk to.

"Where's Tommy?" she asked stepping onto the shag carpeting.

"He's building the fire for the party, but I hope he doesn't end up setting himself on fire," worried Mrs. Conlon. She gestured to the backdoor that was through the kitchen. Adrian nodded, but before she could get to the kitchen she'd have to walk through Mr. Conlon's view of the television set.

She started to say something to Mr. Conlon, but he spoke up first peeling his eyes away from the screen. "He's a tough boy, Amy. That fire couldn't hurt him. Shit, the flames straight from Hell wouldn't have a chance with that kid," he drunkenly muttered. "Satan would go down hard against my boy. Ain't that right, Adrian?" Mr. Conlon glanced over at her.

She let out a little giggle, because Tommy's dad was more than right. Tommy would literally give the devil himself hell. She then passed by Mr. Conlon in his armchair, gave him and his wife a wave, and traveled onto the hardwood floors to make her way to the backyard.

As she went outside, she heard a few clunks as Tommy tossed fresh cut pieces of wood into a pile that was encircled by large rocks. He heard the door shut, so he quickly picked up his last log and gave out a groan throwing it into the center. Tommy straightened his back and used his wrist to wipe off the sweat from his brow.

Before Adrian traveled down the steps to go over to him, she paused for a moment and stared at him from behind. It had been a while since she had seen his body. Every time she had seen him recently at the gym, he was wearing a hoodie and baggy, athletic pants, but now he was wearing a fitted gray tank top and his usual athletic pants. She hadn't seen his body in a few months, but it appeared he had gained more muscle since. Adrian couldn't help but to take it all in, because before she thought it wasn't possible to find Tommy more attractive. In an instant her butterflies came back with a fury flying around in a whirlwind inside of her stomach.

He had always been athletic, but he had clearly begun growing into a man. She saw his shoulders were wider, his arms were arguably massive, and his upper body tapered into his waist. He was bulkier and no longer as lean and slender as she remembered. Sweat has dripped off the back of his now noticeably thicker neck and down between his shoulder blades dampening his shirt with a small patch of sweat. He turned around revealing a chiseled jaw that she didn't seem to notice before.

"Hey, Adrian, how's it going?" Tommy asked breaking her concentration. "Before you come down here, could you grab that yellow bottle for me?"

"Huh?" Adrian mumbled. She looked on the railing to see a yellow, plastic bottle that read "Charcoal lighter fluid." "Oh, yeah," she said, but when she went to grasp the bottle, she knocked it off. Frantically, she lurched forward to catch it and tripped down the porch's steps. Miraculously she caught the bottle. She fell on her knees, but before she could pick herself up, Tommy was there grabbing her hand and placing his other on her waist. She blushed at his touch.

"You all right?" Tommy helped Adrian stand.

"Yeah. . . but look I caught it." She shook the lighter fluid.

"That's my girl," he said and took the bottle from her.

_Am I?_ Adrian asked herself.

"Welp, I hope this isn't a sign of what tonight's gonna be like." He shifted his weight and placed his hands on his hips.

She wrinkled her blow waiting for Tommy to continue.

He looked over at the pit. "The fire can wait." He headed towards the steps and gestured for Adrian to walk before him and left the fluid on the bottom step. The two walked into the silent home, where Adrian was expecting to at least hear the sound of the television with Paddy lounging in the living room, but there wasn't anyone to be found.

Tommy moved to the window which faced out the driveway. He saw his dad's Cadillac was gone and so he assumed Mr. and Mrs. Conlon went out of town in an attempt to spend time on their issues and to work on their relationship. He told Adrian that he wants the trip to work, but the issue of being an asshole can't be fixed over night. He left the window and escorted Adrian towards upstairs.

She knew how hard it was for Tommy to share, and so whenever he did, she always tried to acknowledge what he said, but she didn't want to ask any more of him. "I really hope they figure it out," she admitted following him. "Mrs. Conlon really deserves better." Tommy stopped and looked back at her. Worried she had said the wrong thing, Adrian began to stutter.

"It's okay. You're right, she does," he acknowledged and then continued his way up.

As they arrived at their destination Tommy and his brother's bedroom, Adrian surveyed the room. The room was plain but was full of trophies and had a couple of Steelers' posters on the white walls. There were two twin beds on opposing walls with simple matching sheets. She had never been in his bedroom before, because usually she saw Tommy at their school or the gym, but he had been in her house several times.

Tommy crouched down next to the bed on the right. He rummaged under it, even though Adrian doubted there would be much under there, seeing as Paddy was a former marine and he ran a tight ship. He grunted and slapped his hand on the hard wood floor patting around for something until there was a small thud. A sports water bottle filled with a golden brown liquid came rolling out from under the bed, so Adrian used her foot to catch the mysterious drink from falling onto the staircase.

"What is that?" Adrian bit her lip, because she knew exactly what it was. It was whiskey from Paddy's liquor cabinet that Tommy had put into one of his water bottles, but she hadn't even tasted a drop of alcohol before, so she was nervous again. Her mom had done a good job at keeping alcohol away from her, but this time her mom wasn't there.

Tommy picked up the liquor and held it close to his heart. "You're spending the night here, right?"

Releasing her lip and standing tall, Adrian looked the boy right in the eye and said "Yeah."

A smile grew across Tommy's face presenting his charmingly crooked teeth. "Good," he spoke softly. He looked down in an attempt to hide his happiness, but then he looked up again raising his eyebrow and caught her eye.


End file.
